Stocks on the Rebound

Which stock in the Standard & Poor's 500 has returned the most so far in 2012? It's Netflix, the same company that was so beaten down last year after the disastrous and quickly rescinded announcement that it was splitting itself into two companies. After losing 74 percent of its value in the last six months of 2011, Netflix is up 80 percent so far in 2012.

There have been a lot of stories like that in the early part of this year. Netflix was the second-biggest loser among the S&P 500 stocks in the second half of 2011, trailing only the renewable-energy company First Solar. Like Netflix, First Solar has rebounded strong in 2012, returning 36 percent so far.

Other stocks in that same category: Sears Holdings lost 56 percent of its value in the second half of 2011, but is up 54 percent in 2012. Bank of America lost 50 percent of its value in the second half of 2011, but is up 46 percent so far in 2012. Truly, past performance is no guarantee of future results.